Third and Fourth Year BSBA major in Finance students join the more than 3000 students coming from all over the country in the 3rd Philippine Junior Finance and Investment Summit last September 23, 2017 at SMX Convention Center, Manila. Organized by the CFA Society Philippines and hosted by the CFA Institute, the theme “ACQUIRING SKILLS FOR FUTURE SUCCESS” attracted speakers who are Chartered Financial Analyst working from different countries.

The 8-hour summit started 8:00 am with a National Anthem, invocation and welcome remarks of the Head of Education of Asia Pacific CFA Institute, Mr. Neil Govier, CFA . Followed by a 15-minutes talk of the Treasurer of The Philippines, Ms. Rosalia De Leon where she shared about the 10 point SocioEconomic Agenda and the learning every Finance student must attain.

The main program follows with the Vice President for Operation of Research Education and Institutional Development Foundation, Mr. Ronilo Balbieran as speaker. He tackled and explained the Economic Outlook of the Philippines. Inclusive of the discussion are the indicators of gaining profits and the factors that could affect in earning profits. He discussed the Economic Formula that everybody should know to attain a faster and more inclusive growth in the economy. He discussed also how the Gross Domestic Product works in the Economy. He also emphasized the movement of the graph of the Gross Domestic Product quarterly growth from the last 8 years until now followed by the breakdown of the private consumption of individuals where the private consumption has the biggest percent in the flow of the GDP. Mr. Balbieran also gave a highlight of among all the countries in the World, the Philippines was ranked 40 in 2015 in the rank percentage of the gross domestic product in the World. He discussed the Economy on household where the factors that affect the family savings are the income and the spending on their daily basis. He told us also the comparison of the dollar reserves of the Philippines from the administration of Former President Ferdinand Marcos to the administration of former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. He discussed the connection of GDP/GNP to the production, employment, spending and income of individuals in the economy. Included also in his talk is the Population Pyramid of different countries where Philippines is the only country who has a perfect representation of the pyramid that balance the economy and as well as the population pyramid of Germany, China, Spain, United Kingdom, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, Japan, Europe, South Africa, India and Indonesia. His discussion also includes the current news all over the World including the problem of boosting of birth rate in Singapore and as well as in Japan. Lastly, as the conclusion of his talk, he show the rate of economy of the Philippines under the Administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.

The second speaker of the event is the Vice President for Academic Relations of the CFA Society of the Philippines, Mr. Peter Chua, CFA. He emphasized the Global Passport to a Career in Finance and Investment Industry. Mr. Chua said the CFA Institute mission is “To lead the investment profession globally by promoting the highest standards for ethics, education and professional excellence for the ultimate benefit of society” and its vision is “To aspire to a CFA Institute that serves all finance professional development, connection or inspiration. Also leads the investment profession’s thinking in the areas of ethics, capital market integrity and excellence of practice”. He also introduced the CFA Institute Credential Programs, first was the CFA Program which is Investment decision-making and strategy. It consists of three exams and four years of professional work experience. Second was the CIPM Program, which is the investment performance and risk evaluation that has two exams and two years of professional work experience and the third one was the Investment Foundation Program, it has one exam and no experience required at all. He said that there are 147 member societies and more than 140,000 members in 145 countries. The 33% in America, 21% in Europe, Middle East, Africa and, 46% in Asia Pacific in CFA Program Candidates. In taking the CFA Exam, there are three levels to be complete. First is the Level I which is Investment Tools, the level I is all about Quantitative Methods, Economics, Financial Reporting & Analysis and Corporate Finance. Level II for Asset Classes consist of Equity Investments, Fixed Income, Derivatives and Alternative Investments and the Level III is the Portfolio Management & Wealth Planning which is obviously about Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning. These three levels and the requirements should be passed to be awarded as a Chartered Financial Analyst. Exams Schedule for each level is every June and December. And for the CFA Exams result, all candidates who took the exam are provided with “Pass” and “Did not pass” and will be given a summary of their performance in each level. The CFA exam for all levels costs about $2,500 or 127,000 in Philippine peso.

Mr. Chua also gave top 5 tips in approaching the CFA Exam. First, Listen. Listen carefully to announcement. Second, Show up. 30% of candidates do not show up on exam day. Third, Practice. Work as many practice, mock or sample exam is possible and the used of approved calculator you will use on exam day. Fourth, Study the LOS or the Learning Outcome Statements. Every exam question is tied to particular learning outcome statements (LOS) and the assigned curriculum. Lastly, be prepared because the average candidates spend about 300 hours preparing for each level.

The third speaker is the Founder and CEO of A.Stotz Investment Research (ASIR) a financial services company based in Bangkok, Thailand and is one of the Thailand’s award-winning equity analysts, Mr. Andrew Stotz, PhD, CFA. He shared the 10 Ways Ethics Adds Value to You. He started his talk by sharing the story of his father Mr. Dave who once has no plans about financial industry but then he realized when his own family came that everything is about finance then he try harder and become a successful businessman.

How to be ethical in your work? Diligent, Independent, continuity improve, objective, thorough, reveal conflicts, confidential, fair, trustworthy, loyal. If you can build a competitive advantage in ethics you will be rare because rare is valuable. Aware, Admit, Apologize and Amend. These are the four (4) Steps to get out of trouble according to Mr. Andrew Stotz. People take the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exam to gain a wider and deeper level of knowledge of the financial world. The Goals of CFA is to lead the investment profession globally by promoting the highest standards of ethics, education, and professional excellence for the ultimate benefit of society.

Our very own, Rea Landoy, a third year financial management major student was one of the lucky winners to join in the Valuation Master Class Level 1 for free. It was a big opportunity for her to gain knowledge that covers a broad range of topics relating to investment management, financial analysis, stocks, bonds and derivatives, and provides a generalist knowledge of other areas of finance. He then followed his talk with a question and answer and the CFA Society Philippines President, Ms. Cristina Arceo, CFA awarded the companies with Best Managed Funds for 2017. Given the Plaque of Recognition for the Winner of the Peso Long-Term Bond is the ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund. Given also the Plaque of Recognition for the Winner of Dollar Equity Fund is the BPI Global Equity Fund-of-Funds. Included also to the winners of the best managed funds for 2017 is the Philequity Fund for the Peso Equity Fund category.

After the awarding, everyone had their 1hour and 30minutes lunch break where everybody was served a Filipino dish then followed by the separation of the hall for the breakout room 1 and 2. For the afternoon session each breakout room is separated into two and each has a preferred topic which is Career for breakout room 1 and Investment for breakout room 2. The breakout room 1 started with the first speaker for the afternoon session, the Executive Director of Viventis Search Asia, Mr. Yu Ming Chin. He focused his talk on the use of social media to advance the career.

In his delivery of his topic he emphasized 5 Critical Achievement Drivers such as perpetual learning, self-awareness, empathy, accountability and thinking like an Entrepreneur. However, in this generation of using technologies for our everyday routine, whether you are building a career or a company. If you’re not online, you don’t exist. That’s why he introduced to the audience one of the most efficient app to use which is the LinkedIn. He said “Every executive should have a current and descriptive LinkedIn profile that clearly articulates their personal brand and highlights their areas of greatest expertise. Relationships, brands and even businesses can be built by using social media. It’s a megaphone for extending your current content and communications more broadly and making powerful connections in seconds.”

Mr. Yu also shared the 4C’s of Social Communications. First, Be Current. Keep all information, including head shots, up to date. Second, Be Consistent. With your language, tone and profile photos (to be recognizable on each platform). Third, Be Compelling. Every posting should be as clear, concise and clever as possible. Lastly, Be Critical. Don’t accept anyone into your network, vet them appropriately. As he end his talk he includes the 7 Critical Readiness of an individual that should have. First is Grit, that each and every one of us must be tenacious and resilient in fast paced, ambiguous work environments. Rigor, this is for analytical, data-driven, and exhaustive. Impact, for prioritizing time and actions to drive business value. While teamwork is for collaborating effectively with diverse teams. Next, is curiosity for a quick learner, customer empathetic, creative and innovative. On the other hand, ownership, takes initiative in service of others. And last is polish, communicates professionally, confidently, and authentically.

In breakout room 2,yhe first speaker for the afternoon session was Mr. Mark Ilao, CFA, Business Development Manager of the COL Financial Group, Inc. He tackled the Fund Selection Strategies for the Youth. Mr. Ilao said “The most important asset that you have is time”. There are 3 principles given by Mr. Ilao for fund selection strategy. You have to make sure that (1) you establish your asset allocation strategy. In the context of fund selection it is very simple that you start with the end in mind, therefore you start by making sure that you have an ideal asset allocation strategy. And for young people like you, you can still afford to put as much as 80%-90% of your wealth at the moment in stock market in equities, so that you’ll maximize the potential of your hard earned money. (2) Know your vehicles. You have to know the vehicles that will allow you to have that kind of asset allocation strategy that will leave you the opportunity to reach your goals. And there are two ways, first, you already know that 80%-90% of your money can be invested in the stock market; you can either do it by buying individual securities. Second, you can just invest in what we call Pooled Funds, allow you to invest in different market. And now that you understand the value of your vehicles, you understand what Pooled Fund is offering you, and you just have to (3) select the right funds for you. Make use of the very Act framework, the Asset Size, the Cost, and the Track Record this way you will be able to avoid funds that may not help you achieve the goals that you make for yourself. Beyond the technicalities of investing and fund selection often what is more critical is how soon or how early you are going to start your investment journey. Warren Buffet, the guy considered as the greatest investor once said that, “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago”. Meaning if you start your journey as early as possible, as early as you can, chances are in the long-run, you will be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor and achieved financial independence. Mr. Ilao said that, “your time will be your best ally while you are young and don’t let it becomes your worst enemy as you become older. Use it well, use it efficiently and invest in the right things, that way one day not only when you have a richer, what a more meaningful and fulfilled life”.

The second speaker in the afternoon breakout is Mr. Jess Francis Rebustillo, the past President of People Management Association of the Philippines and for the breakout room 2, the speaker is Mr. Edmund Lee, CFA, the President and CEO of Caylum Trading Institute. In the breakout room 1, Mr. Rebustillo tackled the Strategy on Acing a Job Interview. The delivery of his topic was very millennial and because of that he was able to catch the attention of everyone. He started his topic by presenting a video interview which shows what was usually happening in an interview that should not supposed to be happened. The video presentation shows that we must have communication skills, ability to confidently express ideas or opinions (both oral and written), master the English language, read and read and read and read to gain more information and converse with the people around you because practice makes perfect.

According to him there are competencies that are lacking to the employees. First was Critical Thinking, “you have to be creative and innovative and be ridiculous to be memorable”. Second Communication Skills, “not only the way you speak or grammar but it’s the content”. The third one was Initiative, “you should prove yourself and make them see your worth” always remember that “it is not about your grades but your experience in life”. He stated that competency is attitude, skills and knowledge. And you must have first is Self – confidence, “it should be proper attitude”. Second was Patience which shows willingness and still look nice even you have waited so long to have job interview and lastly, assertiveness not aggressiveness. Mr. Rebustillo gave also tips on what to do when you are having an Interview. Be prompt, neat and wear corporate attire. Attire is the headline and it should be appropriate. Be in shape. Be memorable and have PRESENCE. Be yourself and relax. Maintain eye contact (to show at least confident). Listen carefully and when you answer get to the point. After the interview ask questions (it should be conversation). Research about the company and don’t be a “know it all“. Don’t crack jokes or use snappy saying and don’t come in with a sob story. Be seen as a resource person not a job beggar. Be perceived as part of the solutions not as a problem. Go to the interview alone. Do not badmouth employers/school. Do not memorize answers. Prepare success stories to refer. Tailor answers to the organization. Stalk everyone to the company and research. Look best and feel great, review your resume, prepare and practice. Lastly, always smile in the entire interview.

In the interview, there are stages which are the opening greetings, posture, courtesy and closing. “Your opening and closing greetings can be creative but in a proper way and also formal”. There is Frame versus Content and the interviewee should prepare for 20 minutes interview and observe the 2 seconds to 2 minutes rule. When you say 2 seconds to 2 minutes rule “you should think before you answer but make sure that you wouldn’t make your interviewer waited so long for your answer (make the interview a good conversation)”. Along his talk he shared that we must have bring 10 positive English words in the interview like happy, growth, exciting, inspiring, blessing, good, best, thankful, excellent, beautiful. Because it will be beneficial to the interview depend on how you will use it. Always remember the mindset of gratitude which our family and school. At the end of his talk he leave an inspiring quote “Employment is a grace form God”.

On the other hand, Mr. Edmund Lee, CFA shared his time and expertise to enlighten business students on “The Importance of Behavioral Finance”. Behavioral finance is a field of finance that proposes psychology-based theories to explain stock market anomalies such as severe rises or falls in stock price. Within behavioral finance, it is assumed the information structure and the characteristics of market participants systematically influence individuals' investment decisions as well as market outcomes. He started off by giving three financial analysis. First is Understand the stock. Second, understand the industry and third is understand the economy. He said that we have to understand the different factors that will affect what is going to happen in the market but also stated that the funny part is, even knowing these things are not enough. There is a common thing in financial houses called the emotional cycle investing, at the best times people always tell you to invest, people never tell you to invest at the worst times and that’s the reason why stock prices always goes ahead. Tendencies repeat over and over again, people will pay you the highest price during the best times and the worst value during the worst. Understanding behavioral finance and how prices escalate and go up to more than a hundred percent in a short amount of time versus anything else, these are not rare currencies, there’s logic as to why these types of events happen.

He added that behavioral finance even becomes more important because it helps you identify if people are paying those premiums and what the market is pricing today is totally different than what people are actually thinking of.

“People are not buying base on numbers, people are buying stories of what’s going to happen in the future.”

The last speakers for the afternoon breakout are Mr. Raymond Hicks for breakout room 1 and Mr. Robert Stammers, CFA for breakout room 2. Mr. Raymond Hicks, the Senior Consultant of ZMG Ward Howell shared his time on tackling the 5 Skills New Graduates Need to Succeed. He started his talk by asking two questions. First is “What are you look for in a fresh graduate?” and “What are you look for in a young professional somebody at least 2 to 3 years’ experience or reparably more?” The best way is to diving into the relationship between the employer and the employee.

How do you improve your professional record? These are the five skills needed leadership, adaptability, communication skills, technical skills and, work ethic. All of these are super important the sort of work ethic because that is the key determinant of the capability of our success. If you have strong work of ethic if you are willing to put a time you will grow. He said that technical skills are about a broad category it means it depends on what you do and communication skills are carry you throughout your career. These three skills build you out to be potentially strong leader. Leadership potential is what employers want to hire. They want to hire the future leaders the organization and this all going to bulls down to adaptability. Adaptability is really what going to able to separate you as your future leader of your organization because we live in ever changing in rapid phase economy. He also gave the word of wisdom. First, “get as much as you can in your ideal career path, and everything will help, eventually it’s about the exposure”. He ends up his talk by saying the last word of wisdom. “Planning is key; Adaptability is everything”. He stressed that it is really what will make us succeed in our career in the future.

On the other hand, Mr. Robert Stammers, CFA, the Director for Investor Engagement on the Future of Finance of CFA Institute shared his time and expertise by tackling the 7 Steps to Financial Fitness. He started his talk through asking some questions “Have you ever joined a marathon before?” ”Do you know what it feels like when you are already at the starting corral of the marathon with thousands of people?” “What things go through your mind as you await the starting gun?” “Is your goal to finish within a certain time or just finish?” There are people who are not really built for long distance running. There are people who are too old and look like they are too weak to run but still joining the marathon. Have you ever wondered how do they do that? Well the answer is simple: you need to train. This principle also applies to achieve financial fitness. CFA Institute believes that achieving financial fitness requires discipline and determination over the long term just like running a marathon. As with any type of training, becoming financially fit requires to go through the details of the training, learning the principles and practices to achieve financial freedom. Mr. Robert Stammers shared the 7 steps to financial fitness.

1. SET FINANCIAL GOALS
Have you ever asked yourself, “What do I really want in life?” Nothing can be achieved if you do not set your goals. It is important to know where your destination is because it gives you direction in life. The next thing you will ask yourself is “How am I going to reach my goals?” After determining your goals, it is important to make a plan. Savings and investments are keys to financial fitness. Determining how much you need to save over time to finance your dreams is vital to secure your financial future. You do not need to put everything in investments; you also need to include an emergency fund in your financial goals.

2. UNDERSTAND WHERE YOUR MONEY IS GOING
One of the struggles of achieving financial fitness is the confusion between wants and needs. You need to understand that the things you want, yes they give pleasures, but they are not needs that can sustain life’s fundamental issues. You need to create a budget that includes necessities. Track your spending and change your spending habits that are unnecessary. Remember: “Spend less and save more.”

3. MANAGE YOUR DEBT
Do you think that debt is a very important financial tool to get ahead in life? Yes, it is helpful. You can obtain something ahead of your capacity to pay but it can cause you a great deal of trouble once you cannot pay the bills and meet your obligations on time. “It is easy to get into debt, yet it is so hard to get out.” If you want to increase your savings and investment capital, limit your use of debt. Avoid credit cards, if you can’t, then one is enough. Credit cards have high-interest rates.

4. PUT YOUR FINANCES ON AUTOPILOT
Put your money in your savings account using direct deposit so that you don’t spend it. Make sure that regular contributions make it into retirement and other investing accounts. Use autopay to manage and pay your recurring bills like mortgage or student loan payments. Use a money management application to help you track payments and other expenditures.

5. MAINTAIN A STEADY LIFESTYLE
Spending does not have to grow at the same rate as income. Spend less than what you earn. Work hard. It leads to growth in income that can increase savings and investment accounts. Remember what are ‘needs’ and what are ‘wants’. Know the difference. Keeping your expenditures relatively constant over time is a key method in achieving financial freedom.

6. INVEST WISELY
Invest wisely. Simple as it is. Do not invest in something that you do not understand no matter how profitable it might be; the higher the interest, the higher the risk. Make an investment plan and establish a low-cost, globally diversified portfolio that is appropriate for short and long-term investment. Review your portfolio periodically to stay on track. Think long-term.

7. OBTAIN KNOWLEDGE AND ADVICE
Becoming financially fit does not happen because you have lots of money but because you have acquired knowledge; value knowledge more than entertainment. Invest on knowledge. You are lucky enough that there are a lot of learning sessions, seminars and the like that your school is providing you. Do not neglect on the money you are spending because you are investing it in knowledge, you are investing on yourself. Being financially fit means understanding and utilizing the main principles and best practices in saving and investing.

He concluded that it doesn’t matter how old you are or how much money you have in your pocket, the 7 Steps to Financial Fitness apply to anyone. Taking these steps is not easy. It takes time, energy, discipline, and knowledge. If you don’t stick to the program then you will never finish.

In the last afternoon session Mr. Edmund Lee, CFA, The President and CEO of Calm Trading Insitute. Mr. Fernand Tansingco, CFA, the Senior Executive Vice President and Treasurer of Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company. Mr. Rob Ramos, CFA, the First Vice President and Head of Trust and Investment of Unionbank of the Philippines and Mr. Mark Yu, CFA, the President (Retail) and Chief Financial Officer of SEAOIL Philippines, Inc. were asked by the moderator of the afternoon plenary Mr. Luis Esquivias, CPA, CFA, the Manager Partner of Esquivias, Lim Co., CPAs some questions regarding on the characteristics that an employee or an applicant must and mustn’t have. Each of them will answer every question the moderator will ask. One of the questions Mr. Luis Esquivias asked to Mr. Edmund Lee, Is it a must for an employee/applicant to be good at mathematics?

As the afternoon plenary ends, the President of the CFA Society Philippines, Ms. Cristina Arceo, CFA have her Closing Remarks where she thanked the sponsors of the event young individuals who attended the annual event for finance students. After that, the host, Ms. Salve Duplito announced the raffle winner and the photo liking contest winners. The Three winners received the 12C Calculator worth Pup 5,000 courtesy of HP Calculators. After the announcement, we leave the hall with a smile and learnings we got from those great speakers who shared their time and expertise to us. It’s a great opportunity and privilege for us to attend and witness that kind of event because it don’t just add learnings to our minds, it hones as well our skills in the field of Finance that we can use someday when we find a job and become a successful professionals. They made us realized that we have the guts to take the chance and risk the industry has to offer for us.